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Jose Bautista didn’t have to return to Canada to know how excited the nation is about the team Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has put together this off-season.

No, the slugger simply had to travel a few kilometres in his homeland to feel the love after Canada’s only Major League Baseball team added topnotch talent like R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson and Melky Cabrera — just to name a few.

“Actually, I felt it even in the Dominican (Republic),” Bautista said Sunday at MTS Iceplex. “I was at the beach in Punta Cana for New Year’s, and surprisingly enough there were a lot of Canadian people at the same hotel I was staying at, and I was having 30-minute photo sessions over there.

“Everybody is really excited about the team, all the changes, and all the expectations that we have for winning. Even the experts are giving us the the biggest chances to make it to the World Series and win. We’re hoping to remain healthy, play hard and then just make everybody proud.”

Bautista, along with relief pitchers Brett Cecil and Aaron Loup, are in Winnipeg for two days as part of the team’s third annual winter tour.

Thousands of fans showed up for an autograph session at Polo Park mall, and then the players helped out with a training session at the Iceplex for 23 young baseball players from across Manitoba.

They will visit an elementary school on Monday morning before heading off to Saskatoon and then Edmonton.

Bautista said a wrist injury that forced him to miss significant time in 2012 is all good.

“The wrist is good,” he said. “Fully healthy. Back to swinging, and I just can’t wait to get started when spring training comes around.”

Their fans appear just as pumped about the upcoming MLB season, and who knew there were so many of them in Manitoba?

Eldon Litke left his Beausejour home at 7 a.m. on Sunday just for the chance to have Bautista sign his jersey, which he described as “very cool.”

It’s a good thing he showed up early, because they had to cut off the autograph line with hundreds still standing in it.

Stephen Brooks, who is Toronto’s senior vice-president of business operations, said it was the biggest crowd they’ve seen on their winter tour.

“I’m very excited for the year coming up,” Litke said. “It was time for the Jays owners to spend some money, so hopefully they do really well.

“It was Christmas when I heard the big signings and all the money they’re spending. It’s exciting. I hope they do well.”

A youngster named Trent Peters travelled all the way from Clearwater, Man., with his sister Faith and uncle to get in the autograph line, and it was well worth the trip as he got Bautista, Cecil and Loup to sign a baseball.

“It’s awesome they came all the way out to Winnipeg,” said Peters, who plans to display the ball prominently in his bedroom and is also looking forward to many Blue Jays victories in 2013.

As Advertised in the Winnipeg SUN

Blue Jays feel the love

Bautista and other Jays on cross-Canada tour

Jose Bautista didn’t have to return to Canada to know how excited the nation is about the team Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has put together this off-season.

No, the slugger simply had to travel a few kilometres in his homeland to feel the love after Canada’s only Major League Baseball team added topnotch talent like R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson and Melky Cabrera — just to name a few.

“Actually, I felt it even in the Dominican (Republic),” Bautista said Sunday at MTS Iceplex. “I was at the beach in Punta Cana for New Year’s, and surprisingly enough there were a lot of Canadian people at the same hotel I was staying at, and I was having 30-minute photo sessions over there.